Metal shelving



E. M. JARVIS METAL SHELVING July 28, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 27, 1956 mvzm'on EDWARD M. JARVIS W4 AT T Y S.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVEN TOR.

ATTYS.

E. M. JARVIS METAL SHELVING EDWARD M. J ARVIS I in 7", i I

llll July 28, 1959 Filed April 27, 1956 United States Patent METAL SHELVING Edward M. Jarvis, Ambler, Pa., assignor to Standard Pressed Steel Co., Jenkintown, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application April 27, 1956, Serial No. 581,231

8 Claims. (Cl. 211-136) This invention relates to improvements in metal shelving and a principal object of the invention is to structurally and functionally improve shelving of this class.

Shelving of the type to which this invention relates is conventionally provided in units or sections comprising side and back panels or frame uprights, of pressed metal, together with shelves, also of pressed metal adapted for support on and between said panels or uprights. Conventionally also, means is provided for mounting the shelves at selected positions or levels, said means consisting of shelf-supporting elements and means for attaching such elements in desired positions to panels or upright members. Frequently, the several parts of the panel or frame structure, including the adjustable shelfsupporting elements, or the shelves themselves, are joined together by means of bolts. For purposes of adequate strength coupled with low weight, it is customary also to employ upright members of angular horizontal cross section at the front and rear corners of the frame or panel structure, and as a consequence insertion of the shelves into place between the panels or uprights entails the necessity for tilting the shelf so that it may pass behind the flanges of the angular corners. In general, the process of assembling shelving of this class has been a time consuming and relatively expensive operatlon.

A specific object of the present invention is to provide shelving comprising a basic panel or frame structure whereof the upright end members are designed to afford a high degree of rigidity without employment of the conventional corner angles, thereby eliminating the projecting flanges which have complicated the insertion and removal of the shelves, and providing for admission and removal of the shelves to the structure in horizontal planes and without tilting.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved shelf-supporting bracket providing adequate support for the shelves over the entire depth of the latter and comprising as an integral part thereof manually adjustable means functioning to the dual end of clamping the supported shelf to the bracket and of anchoring both bracket and shelf to the panel or frame structure.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bracket element of the stated character which, with cooperative end panel or frame structure, provides for attachment of the bracket to the panel structure without necessity for use of bolts or external fastening elements.

A further object of the invention is to provide a basic panel structure of adequate rigidity and strength designed to permit insertion therein or withdrawal therefrom multiple panelled shelf units, as hereinafter more specifically set forth.

The invention resides additionally in certain novel structural details and arrangements hereinafter described and illustrated in the attached drawings wherein:

Fig. l is a view in perspective of a unitary shelving structure including end and rear panels and a plurality of spaced shelf members;

Fig. Q is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view through one of the end panels of the unit illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a corresponding fragmentary sectional view through the opposite end panel of said unit;

Fig. 4 is a view in perspective of one of the shelfsupporting brackets;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional perspective view illustrating the manner in which the bracket of Fig. 4 is installed in the panel structure, and illustrating also the novel means by which the bracket is secured in the structure and is united with a shelf supported by the bracket;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view on the line 6-6, Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view on the line 7--7, Fig. 1, and

Fig. 8 is a view in perspective of one of the latches which functions to provide a bearing for the rear edges of the shelves on the rear panel of the structure.

With reference to the drawings, shelving made in accordance with my invention will comprise a basic panel structure having upright end panels 1 and 2, and a rear panel 3. As shown in Fig. 2, the end panel 1 comprises a plate 4 having a reinforcing hollow forward-edge structure 5 which in the present instance is formed separately of pressed metal and secured to the plate. The edge structure comprises a forward hollow rounded bead 6 which terminates at its rear edges in flat parallel and relatively spaced sections 7 and 8, the rear ends of the sections 7 and 3 being bent inwardly, as indicated at 9 and 10, and rearwardly to form flanges 11 and 12 which are secured by welding or other suitable means to the opposite sides and forward edge of the plate 4. Each of the flat sections 7 and 8 is provided with a vertical series of rectangular openings 13, 13 with the openings in one section aligned transversely with the respective openings in the other section; and intermediate the said openings 13 each of the sections 7 and 8 is providedv also with a series of circular apertures 14, also in relative alignment. The functions of these openings and apertures will be described below.

The panel 1 comprises also a rear edge portion 15 formed of pressed metal and attached by welding or other suitable means to the edge of the plate 4. The edge 15 has a flat laterally offset section 16 which lies in parallel alignment with the section 8 of the front edge structure 5, and the section 16 is provided with rectangular openings 17 and circular apertures 18 in interspersed series and arranged in transverse or horizontal alignment with the corresponding openings 13 and apertures 14 in the section 8 of the forward front edge structure. The section =16 of the rear edge member 15 terminates at its rearward end in a reversely inclined section 19 which terminates at its rear edge in a transverse flange 20. This flange is provided with a longitudinal series of openings 21 which are adapted to receive bolts 22 by means of which the flange 20 may be secured to the proximate edge of the rear panel 3, said panel being provided with a series of bolt-receiving openings 23 which register with the openings 21.

The panel 2 at the opposite end of the structure corresponds structurally with the end panel 1 with exception that it has at its rear edge two members 24 and 25 corresponding in form to the rear edge member 15 of panel 1. The end panel 2 is thereby designed for attachment to the rear panel 3 but also to the rear panel 26 of an adjoining shelving section of which the panel 2 also constitutes one end. The members 24 and 25, by reason of section 19 of the member15 previously described, form Patented July 28, 1959.

in effect a split tubular edge structure marking the juncture at the rear of the panel structure of the adjoining shelving sections.

In conjunctionwith the panel structure, the invention contemplates provision of a shelf-suppbrting bracket of theform best illustrated in Fig. ,4 and designated generally by the reference numeral 29. This bracket has a length which corresponds roughly to the width of the end panels. The bracket comprises a verticalflange 3t} having a turned back hook, '31 and 32 respectively, at each end which is designed to fit over the lower edge of one or other of the rectangular openings and 17 of the panel 1, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6 so that the bracket is supported with the ends of the flange 30 in flat facet'o-face relation with the sections 8 and 16 of the front and rear edges of the said panel. Thebracket may, therefore, be mounted in any of the various positions afforded by the series of openings S and 1 6. I I

The vertical flange 30 of the bri cket Z9 terminates at its lower edge in a laterally projecting flange 33; and these flanges are locally slightly extended and turned upwardly, as indicated at 34 and 35, to provide a channeled seat for the ends of a shelf, as hereinafter described. At the opposite ends of thebracket, however, the flange 33 terminates in unchannelled end portions 36 and 37 respectively. At each of the channel sections of the flange 33 a latch, 33 and 39 respectively, is pivotally attached to the underside of the flange as indicated at 40 and 41 so that the latch may be adjusted about the pivot in a plane parallel to the plane of the flange 33 arid at the underside of the latter. As shown in Fig. 4, "each of the latches comprises aflat body portion 42 having a downturned flange 43 atone side edge 44, and this edge terminates in a projecting tongue 45. At the opposite edge, the body portion 42 of the latch turns upwardly and back to form a slot-like socket 46 which, when the latch is turned toward the proximate outer end of the bracket, 36 or 37 as the case may be, receives and embraces the free edge of the flange 33.- In this latch position shown in 6, the tongue 45 enters the aperture, 14 or 18 as the case may be, which immediately underlies the rectangular opening in which the hook 31 or 32 of the bracket is engaged and the tongue 45 thereby operates in effect to anchor the bracket in the end panels against inadvertent displacement. 3

The shelf elements 47 are composed of pressed metal and are formed at their edges, as illustrated in Figs. 5, 6 and 7, with downturned flangesf48, the inner edges of these flanges being turned inwardly, as indicated at 4?, and upwardly at their inner edges as indicated at 50. This channelled edge of the shelf is dimensioned so as to fit within the channelled portions of the brackets described above, as illustrated in Fig. 5. Portions of the inner terminal flange 50 and of the inturned flange '49 which in assembly would normally register with the end portions 36 and 37 of the flange 33 of the brackets are removed so as to permit the latches 38 when turned inwardly as described above to embrace not only the proxirr ate edges of the bracket flange 33 but also the immediately overlying portions of the shelf flange 49, as shown In Fig. 6, within the socket 46 of the latch so as to clamp the shelf to the bracket. "In this manner, the shelves are anchored to the panels in amanner precluding accidental displacement of the shelves from their normal positions in any direction, except when the latches have been turned outwardly as shown in Fig. '4 to release the bracket and shelf flanges and to withdraw the tongue 45 from the apertures in the end panels. This retractive movement of latches may be readily eflected by pressure on the downturned flange 43 which as illustrated in Fig. 6 lies in proximity to the confronting face of the side panel accessible for insertion of a prying tool between the panel and the flange.

It is sometimes desirable to provide means for supporting the shelves intermediate their ends, and in the 4 present instance a support is provided in the form of a bracket 51 shown in Figs. 7 and S. The rear panel 3 is provided at its mid-section with a vertical series of apertures 52, see Fig. 7, in which the pressed out hooks 53 of the bracket 51 may be inserted to secure the bracket to the panel, as illustrated in Fig. 7. The bracket has at its lower end an inturned flange 54 the inner edge of which is turned upwardly as at 55 to form a channel which receives the depending channelled edge 56 of the shelf, as

indicated in Fig. 7. I I

'An important functional aspect of the construction described above is illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3. When the brackets 29 are installed in the aligned openings 13 and 17 at front and rear respectively of the end panels, the channelled flange 33 of the bracket projects beyond the proximate faces of the front and rear edge portions 5 and 15 of the panel. When a shelf is installed and seated in 'the brackets, the end edges of the shelf lie clear of the faces of the end panels. This is clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3 wherein the opposite end edges of the shelf 4'7 are indicated by the reference numerals 57 and 58. As a result of this construction, it is possible to insert the shelf between the opposite end panels of any given shelving unit while in the normal horizontal position and without tilting. It is possible, therefore, if a loaded shelf is to be inserted or is to be moved to a different position in the panel structure to insert or to remove the shelf, without unloading. Also, the shelf securely locked against inadvertent displacement from the structure by means of the tongues 45 of the latches 38 which interlock with the panels as described above, I The tubular formation at the forward edges of the end panels and the pressed out formations at the rear edges afford adequate rigidityand strength in the panel consistent with its shelf supporting function. Still another aspect of this phase of the invention resides in the fact that units composed forexample of two shelves 58 and 59, see Fig. l, with dividing partitions 60 secured therebetwecn and forming with the shelves a rigid unit'of substantial depth can be inserted into the panel structure as readily as theindividual shelves by reason of the ability to slidethe unit bodily between the end panels while in the normal horizontal position.

In the shelving unit illustrated in Fig. 1, a shelf 61 is boltedor otherwise suitably secured to the upper ends of the panel elements to form in effecta solid top wall for the unit. In order to finish the lower forward edge of the assembledunit, a suitable apron may be secured at the forward edge of the lowe r shelfelement 59 to close the gap between that element and the floor.

Iclaim: I I I I II I In metal shelving, a frame structure comprising vertical opposite end panels extending from front to rear and means for interconnecting the rear edges of said panels, each of the end panels consisting of a sheet of metal having at its forward upright edge a shaped section conferring rigidity to said edge and including a flat vertical face offset laterally from the plane of the said sheet toward the opposite end panel, said face having a plurality of apertures, a corresponding oflset face at the rear edge of each of the said metal sheets in parallel alignment with the face at the forward edge of the sheet and having a plurality of apertures aligned transversely with the said apertures of the forward face, brackets having integral downturned hooks engaged in aligned apertures at front and rear of each of the panels to attach the brackets to the respective panels, and a latch carried by and adjustable on each said bracket and having a part engaging with another of the said apertures in one adjusted position of the latch to anchor the bracket to the panel.

2. Metal shelving according to claim 1 wherein the respective brackets extend continuously from the forward to the rear edge portion of the supporting panel and is provided at each end with one of "said hooks and with one of said latches in engagement with the apertures at front and rear edges of the panel respectively.

3. Metal shelving according to claim 1 including a shelf adapted for support by said brackets between the panels, said shelf having parts engaged by the latch when the latter is in the said adjusted position to anchor the shelf to the bracket.

4. In metal shelving, a frame structure, a shelf-supporting bracket comprising integral means for suspending the bracket in said structure, a latch on said bracket interlocked with the structure to secure the bracket in place thereon, said latch being adjustable on said bracket to release the bracket for removal from the structure, a shelf supported on said bracket, and means on said latch having interlocking engagement with the shelf when the latch is adjusted to interlock with the frame structure.

5. In metal shelving, a frame structure, a shelf mounted in said structure, a shelf-supporting bracket, and means on the bracket for attaching the bracket to the frame structure and-comprising as an integral part thereof means 7. Metal shelving according to claim 6 including a shelf seating on said bracket, flanges on said bracket and shelf, said flanges adjoining when the shelf is so seated, and a socket in said latch adapted to receive the edges of both said flanges to clamp the shelf to the bracket when the latch is adjusted to secure the bracket in the frame structure.

8. Metal shelving comprising a frame structure, a shelf removably mounted in said structure, a shelf-supporting bracket having means for detachably mounting the bracket in the structure, and a pivoted latch on said bracket interlocking both with the structure and the shelf and retractable about the pivot from said interlocked relation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 566,305 Geuder Aug. 25, 1896 971,707 Waters ,Oct. 4, 1910 1,336,490 Staples Apr. 13, 1920 2,005,593 Onions et al. June 18, 1935 2,354,269 -Marchand July 25, 1944 2,489,708 Hammer Nov. 29, 1949 2,604,213 Bales et al. July 22, 1952 2,639,042 Lambert et al. May 19, 1953 2,764,442 Weaver Sept. 25, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 312,115 Switzerland Dec. 31, 1955 935,876 France Feb. 9, 1948 

